The Details of Victory
by Obscure Stranger
Summary: "And this moment here. This moment is a moment that you never forget: the moment when a tribute becomes a victor." - Caesar Flickerman
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing.

* * *

**001.**

She knows that she needs to kill him. She has to. He claws at his neck, but after weeks in the arena his fingernails are too thin and broken to catch the wire. The wire is taut around his neck and he staggers forward. Her thin legs lock around his body and tighten while he continues to struggle. Blood drips as the wire cuts deeper into his skin. He needs to die so she can win. So she can live. He tries to throw her off, but fails. He topples to the ground and she falls with him. She hits her head and her grip on the wire loosens.

He escapes the hold, takes in a deep, shuddering breath, and turns to look down at her. He takes a knife from his belt and stabs it down into her chest. A hoarse scream escapes her. She's scared.

She thinks she's dying, but she can't die now. Not here.

He looms over her. "There can only be one Victor," he says, "And it will be me."


	2. Chapter 2

**002.**

She kicks him hard and he doubles over. She yanks the knife out and aims for his throat. She misses and her heart drops. He wrenches it from her with a snarl and glares at the scrawny girl.

She scrambles backwards. Her hands explore the ground behind her. He steps forward and she strikes. She throws dirt in his face and launches herself at him. The two collide with the ground again. This time she has the advantage. This time she has to kill him. She clutches his head in her hands and slams his face down on the ground. Again, again, and again. Blood splashes in her face. It oozes down her chest. It trickles through her fingers.

She doesn't notice he's dead until the blood soaking her hands turns cold. The canon booms one last time. Her grip loosens. She stares down at his distorted face and breathes.

"There can only be one Victor," her childish voice echoes. "And it is me."


	3. Chapter 3

**003.**

The cold of the metal throne seeps into her skin and her feet dangle inches off the ground when she finally sits down. Her dress is wrinkled. Words slip out of her lips and Caesar Flickerman laughs. She watches the recap and stares at the images of the other tributes. Her face is on the screen. Blood is on her hands. The world tilts.

She blinks and the recap is over.

Caesar grabs her hand and tugs her to her feet. The crowd cheers and claps and, all of a sudden, the President is in front of her. He speaks. He smells too sweet and he smiles down at her.

The crown is too big. It slides off to the side after President Snow places it on her head.

She can't breathe.


	4. Chapter 4

**004.**

They dress her in gold. It shimmers in the light and the fabric is too soft. She twirls because they want her to. It makes her dizzy. Her prep team giggles and her stomach churns when they paint over her scars and the bags under her eyes. They chat with each other about the games and how surprising it was when she won. One of them touches her shoulder and compliments her. She stiffens and the hand lingers as they titter.

Her stylist draws on her with small brushes that tickle her skin and makes her sparkle. He fusses over her hair and tells her to smile.

She tries.

She is alone. She stands in front of the mirror, but she doesn't look. She can't. It's not her she sees.


	5. Chapter 5

**005.**

Her escort pushes her through the pulsating crowd of Capitol citizens. They all crane their necks to get a good look at her. She's warm and the music is too loud. It hurts her ears. She is lead to a table and they give her a drink that fizzes in her mouth. It tastes like flowers. She likes the way it tingles in her throat. She drinks it all. Another appears in her hand. And then another. Someone talks to her, but she can't understand what they are saying. Her head feels heavy and the world looks blurry.

There's a hand on her back.

She sits on the ground with her arms wrapped around herself and stares at nothing.

She doesn't like parties.


	6. Chapter 6

**006.**

They send her back to her District a month after winning the games, after her crowning, after they make her outsides perfect again. She wishes they hadn't because now her insides and outsides don't match. She thinks it would be better if they did. Maybe then they would stop looking at her, stop wanting her, stop asking for her.

She feels wrong.

She looks at her hands and wonders why no one else can see the red on them. She tries to wash it away, but it won't come off.

Her insides are too broken to be fixed.

She's tired.


	7. Chapter 7

**007.**

She lives all by herself in Victor's Village now. They give her the house in the left corner of the empty neighborhood. The farthest house from the path that leads to the center of her District. She avoids that path. The house is big and filled with strange things she doesn't know what to do with. It reminds her of the Capitol.

She turns all the mirrors around.

And for the first time, in what seems like forever, she is alone.

Then, one day, she sees it. There's a camera. Small and hidden, but there. She checks the rooms carefully and spots one in all of them. Her stomach drops.

They're still watching her.


End file.
